R.I. man, never tried in rape, remains imprisoned for it

Katie Mulvaney Journal Staff Writer kmulvane

Saturday

May 4, 2019 at 4:15 PMMay 4, 2019 at 4:15 PM

When a judge refuses to shorten the man’s 25-year sentence for a probation violation, imposed when he was accused of assaulting his teenage stepdaughter, some in the legal-defense community say it shows what’s wrong with Rhode Island’s probation system. “We claim we’re sentencing for a probation violation, but in fact we’re convicting him without a trial,” says Andrew Horwitz, a Roger Williams University School of Law professor.

PROVIDENCE — A Superior Court judge this week refused to release a Burrillville man serving 25 years for a probation violation — the alleged rape of his teenage stepdaughter — a move that drew criticism from the defense community as Exhibit A about what’s wrong with Rhode Island’s probation system.

Judge William E. Carnes Jr. on Tuesday rejected 52-year-old Robert Raso’s arguments that the sentence should be reduced because a state prosecutor ultimately dismissed the allegation that Raso sexually assaulted the girl for more than four years, starting when she was 9.

Instead, Carnes relied on testimony by Assistant Attorney General Daniel Carr Guglielmo that, despite dismissing the charges in 2011, he had no doubt that probable cause existed to pursue the case and that he firmly believed Raso was culpable for the alleged crimes. It left an impression on the prosecutor like few others in his 16-year career, he said.

Under state law, a sentence can be terminated if it is determined that the evidence fails to show that probable cause exists that the person committed the alleged crime.

But Roger Williams University School of Law Prof. Andrew Horwitz on Thursday called the case — and the sentence — “exactly” what is wrong with the state’s probation system. According to U.S. Department of Justice 2016 figures, the state had 23,000 people on probation, reflecting one of the highest probation rates in the nation.

“Very serious allegations were resolved through a probation violation hearing instead of a trial in which the defendant would have enjoyed a full panoply of constitutional protections,” said Horwitz, who runs the law school’s criminal defense clinic.

Instead, the rules of evidence were not applied and the sexual-assault allegations against Raso were assessed at a lower standard than being proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

“He was punished without a trial. Things shouldn’t function that way,” Horwitz said, adding, “We claim we’re sentencing for a probation violation, but in fact we’re convicting him without a trial. I actually don’t think it’s constitutionally appropriate.”

Raso’s lawyer, Stephen T. Morrissey, noted, too, that the standard to hold someone for alleged probation violations had changed since Raso was sentenced. In 2011, the standard was reasonable satisfaction, a lower bar than the current standard, a preponderance of evidence.

Raso, who was never tried on the allegations involving his stepdaughter, is due to be released in 2032. He indicated Tuesday that he would appeal.

“Robert Raso was on several lengthy probationary sentences for numerous violent crimes when he committed his latest crime, this time against a child. Those probationary sentences required him to keep the peace and be of good behavior,” Neronha said in an email. “Then Judge Savage heard the entire case during a five-day violation hearing after listening to over a dozen witnesses, and firmly concluded that Mr. Raso committed the crime alleged. Her sentence was perfectly appropriate for someone with Mr. Raso’s criminal history, and we are grateful for Judge Carnes’ decision this week that the outcome in this case should stand.”

In March 2011, Judge Savage sentenced Raso to serve 25 years for violating the terms of his probation from a slew of offenses committed more than a decade earlier, including kidnapping, attempted murder, armed robberies and arson. Raso served 12 years for the previous offenses. A 28-year suspended sentence with probation remained hanging over him upon his release.

Savage’s ruling came just weeks after Raso’s neighbor alerted state child welfare officials about hearing the 14-year-old crying and yelling. The teenager told authorities that Raso had molested her several times a week since she was 9 years old, the ruling said.

Days after the girl came forward, her mother, uncle and three other adults interrogated her for hours in a basement — “grueling” questioning in which they accused her of lying. The teen eventually recanted, but Savage dismissed those statements as coerced under pressure from the adults. The girl’s uncle recorded the inquisition without the teen’s consent, and later turned it over to Burrillville police.

“It was a perverted, misguided effort to investigate the alleged crime or perhaps to secure what they believed to be the truth, that [the teenager] lied about the molestations ...,” Savage said according to a transcript of the hearing.

I’ve “heard your voice, and it is the voice that matters...,” Savage said. “Your testimony is fraught with pain and anguish. I believe that the defendant, Robert Raso, sexually assaulted you on March 6, 2011, and over a period of four years before that.” Calling it one of the most “gut-wrenching sagas” she’d heard on the bench, Savage said she found the girl’s testimony convincing and consistent with the recollections of her two friends.

Raso denied abusing the teenager. Her mother didn’t believe her story. They explained to Savage that sperm and seminal fluid were found in the teen’s bed because they engaged in sex there.

“The fact that this child was able to come into this courtroom two weeks after having been molested and ten days after being interrogated for hours about it by nonbelievers and point the finger at this defendant in front of rows of hostile family members and friends invited to the hearing by her mother speaks volumes about truth and courage,” Savage said.

Carnes quoted Savage on Tuesday, saying that she was not only reasonably satisfied that Raso sexually assaulted his stepdaughter on March 6, 2011, and over the course of four years before that, but that she was “near certain of it.”

The state Supreme Court, too, upheld Raso’s sentence in 2013.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.